Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions
1 Department of Pedagogy and Medical Psychology, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, RUSSIA
2 Department of English Language and Professional Communication, Financial University under the Government of the Russian Federation, Moscow, RUSSIA
3 Institute of Interdisciplinary Education and Ibero-American Studies, Southern Federal University, Rostov-on-Don, RUSSIA
4 Department of Analytical, Physical and Colloidal Chemistry, Sechenov First Moscow State Medical University, Moscow, RUSSIA
5 Higher School of Economics, Pacific National University, Khabarovsk, RUSSIA
6 Institute of Foreign Languages, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia (RUDN University), Moscow, RUSSIA
* Corresponding Author
This study presents a systematic and scientific mapping of multimodal communication research conducted in higher education, examining the field’s thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions through combined bibliometric and content-based analysis, drawing on 63 peer-reviewed journal articles retrieved from Web of Science and Scopus published between 2016 and 2026. The selection process followed preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses guidelines, with studies screened against two eligibility criteria: situatedness in higher education and multimodal communication as a primary analytical focus. Frequency analysis was applied to annual publication trends, research methods, author keywords, journal distribution, and abstract vocabulary, while thematic classification organized the corpus into six clusters. Findings indicate a marked acceleration in publication output from 2022 onwards, with the period 2022-2025 accounting for 66.7% of all studies. Quantitative approaches constitute the largest methodological category (30.2%), followed by conceptual and theoretical works (28.6%) and qualitative studies (22.2%). Six thematic clusters were identified: language teaching and multimodal resources (38.1%), multimodal literacy and competence (20.6%), technology-enhanced multimodal learning (14.3%), classroom interaction and multimodal communication (14.3%), institutional and organizational communication (6.3%), and theoretical and methodological frameworks (6.3%). Abstract word analysis reveals a lexical shift from literacy- and theory-oriented vocabulary in the early period towards digital, interaction, and technology-centered terminology after 2021. Co-authorship analysis identifies a moderately collaborative field with an average of 2.78 authors per study. The future direction analysis revealed 34 research priorities under six thematic clusters, with theoretical/methodological development, multimodal assessment in higher education, and technology-enhanced learning being highlighted as the most prominent areas for future research. The findings collectively suggest that the field is transitioning from theoretical consolidation towards applied, empirically driven, and technology-informed inquiry, with institutional communication and artificial intelligence-mediated multimodal learning emerging as underexplored directions for future research.
Serdakova, A. D., Drobysheva, N. N., Shiryaeva-Shiring, O. V., Evgrafov, A. A., Korobkova, O. K., & Sokolova, E. G. (2026). Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions.
Contemporary Educational Technology, 18(3), Article ep680.
https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/19084Serdakova, A. D., Drobysheva, N. N., Shiryaeva-Shiring, O. V., Evgrafov, A. A., Korobkova, O. K., and Sokolova, E. G. (2026). Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions.
Contemporary Educational Technology, 18(3), ep680.
https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/19084Serdakova AD, Drobysheva NN, Shiryaeva-Shiring OV, Evgrafov AA, Korobkova OK, Sokolova EG. Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions.
CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2026;18(3), ep680.
https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/19084Serdakova, Alexandra D., Nataliya N. Drobysheva, Oksana V. Shiryaeva-Shiring, Alexander A. Evgrafov, Oksana K. Korobkova, and Ekaterina G. Sokolova. "Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions".
Contemporary Educational Technology 2026 18 no. 3 (2026): ep680.
https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/19084Serdakova, Alexandra D. et al. "Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions".
Contemporary Educational Technology, vol. 18, no. 3, 2026, ep680.
https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/19084Serdakova AD, Drobysheva NN, Shiryaeva-Shiring OV, Evgrafov AA, Korobkova OK, Sokolova EG. Scientific mapping of multimodal communication research in higher education: Thematic trends, intellectual structure, and future directions. CONT ED TECHNOLOGY. 2026;18(3):ep680.
https://doi.org/10.30935/cedtech/19084